Collaborate Disseminate
Given how many satellites and bits of orbital debris are now orbiting the Earth, it’s becoming increasingly important to keep track of where they all are. A new telescope system allows space agencies and other clients to do so – even in broad daylight…. Continue reading Numerica telescope tracks satellites in broad daylight
A team of ESA scientists has developed a way to use lasers to accurately track space debris even in broad daylight. Using a combination of special telescopes, detectors, and light filters tuned to specific wavelengths, it’s now possible to increase the… Continue reading Upping the contrast enables daytime laser tracking of space debris
The buildup of space debris is a serious problem that won’t be going away anytime soon, with thousands of pieces of junk currently in orbit around the Earth. A team of researchers has put forward a novel way to keep things in check, making a case for c… Continue reading Could orbital fees force satellite operators to deal with space junk?
In the early days, satellites didn’t stick around for very long. After it was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, it only took about three months for Sputnik 1 to renter the atmosphere and burn up. But the constant drive to push ever further into space meant that soon …read more
For humans and satellites alike, making a living is space is hard. First, there’s the problem of surviving the brief but energetic and failure-prone ride there, after which you get to alternately roast and freeze as you zip around the planet at 20 times the speed of sound. The latter …read more
Continue reading Russia’s Newest Weather Satellite May Have Be Killed by Space Junk
In order to at least begin addressing the growing problem of space debris, numerous groups are now looking into methods of de-orbiting satellites once their operational lives have ended. One of the latest approaches involves getting the space… Continue reading Dangling tape could be used to de-orbit old satellites
Skywatchers say Kosmos 482, which was designed to withstand the harsh environment of Venus, will likely land on Earth intact. Continue reading A Defunct Soviet Venus Probe Will Crash Into Earth After Decades in Orbit
A MIPT team is building prototype observatories over the coming weeks in Amderma, Nenets Autonomous Region. Continue reading Scientists Want to Monitor Space Debris from Warming Russian Arctic
Back in April we reported on the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station which carried, along with supplies and experiments for the orbiting outpost, the RemoveDEBRIS spacecraft. Developed by the University of Surrey, RemoveDEBRIS was designed as the world’s first practical demonstration of what’s known as Active Debris Removal (ADR) technology. It included not only a number of different technologies for ensnaring nearby objects, it even brought along deployable targets to use them on.
Orbital debris (often referred to simply as “space junk”) is a serious threat to all space-faring nations, and has …read more
On April 2nd, 2018 a Falcon 9 rocketed skywards towards the International Space Station. The launch itself went off without a hitch, and the Dragon spacecraft delivered its payload of supplies and spare parts. But alongside the usual deliveries, CRS-14 brought a particularly interesting experiment to the International Space Station.
Developed by the University of Surrey, RemoveDEBRIS is a demonstration mission that aims to test a number of techniques for tackling the increasingly serious problem of “space junk”. Earth orbit is filled with old spacecraft and bits of various man-made hardware that have turned some areas of space into a …read more